Gotta agreee with Deane mate, nitro are definately a HEAP o fun but a bit messy and can be a bit frustrating for a beginner. If you wanna go nitro though have a look at the TRAXXS R/C's as they have taken alot of the frustration out of the nitro guys. They also do the T-MAXX(nitro) and the E-MAXX (elec), which are both pretty well compared in power and torque which is what you usally loose with an elec car, the torque I mean.
As for actual R/C it all depends on whjat you want to use it for? Is it going to be a FUN rig, a Rockcrawler, a high speed or a mix of a few of these. If you want a mixed standard go for something like the older Tamiya Clodbuster or similar, they now do one called the TX-1 or the Kyosho USA-1 (thought you'd like that one). I run 4 MP-6 Kyosho 4wd buggies which are suited better for high speed gravel, jumps and racing (my passion).
The intall out lay can be expensive but once you've spent the money you don't have to keep buying stuff, only if you break it or want to upgrade a bit. Try E-Bay there are a heap of great R/C's on there and won't cost you heaps if you want to upgrade to a different R/C later on.
Steve be warned that these things can get as bad as Jeeps, you can get hooked real easy.
Here's a few links to help you make up your mind bud.
Outer limits Tech talk. These guys know rockcrawling in AUS.
TRAXXAS, great R/C's.
Kyosho, good R/C manufacturer.
Tamiya, just for something else.
R/C Action, great magazine on all things R/C.
Hope all this helps Steve, would love to know what you get mate.
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